Knitting Numbers
by hydrochloric
Summary: AU. Rin is the owner of a small yarn shop but isn't very good at keeping the books, so she enlists in the help of accountant Sesshomaru. Unfortunately the two disagree on everything, but don't opposites attract?
1. cast on

I don't own Inuyasha...

Author's Note:  
Hello! This story is for all of those aneme-watching knitting folk. If you knit, know you are in the company of a fellow. If you don't, we'll get you eventually...he he he. Anyway, this is my first fic, so I'm still working on the formating and layout. If you have any suggestions on anything, just say so. Enjoy.

Knitting Numbers

Huffing in annoyance, Rin slammed a receipt on the desk before her and stabbed at the "clear" button on her calculator. The numbers just weren't adding up, but there was no reason why they shouldn't be. She knew enough to know that they were turning a profit, in fact, a quite good one, but yet, according to her calculations, they should be… five hundred dollars in debt. No, that wasn't right at all. The hard truth that she had to face was that she just wasn't good with numbers. Steady B minuses and C's in high school were proof of that, but when she opened the shop there hadn't been enough money to hire an accountant. Now it appeared there was, judging purely from inventory numbers and not her faulty math, of course.

Rin was the owner of a tiny yarn shop, Cast On, that she had started right after quitting her first job, so really, selling yarn and knitting were all she knew. But she was good at what she knew, and that was enough. The little shop had been going strong for five years, helped along by how vogue knitting was occasionally. That was how she met one of her best friends, Kagome, when she had come into the shop with one of her "fashion-forward" friends who had wanted to get in on the latest trend. Now, long after her friend had dropped "the new yoga," Kagome was still there and still knitting, though her friend wasn't quite as avid as she was.

Then there was Sango. Sango was not what you could call the crafty type. In fact, Sango was pretty damn tough, but her boss had suggested she get a relaxing hobby after slapping a coworker who she swears touched her. So she (begrudgingly) turned to knitting, and three months later she still hadn't gotten the hang of it, but Rin had hope for her yet. The three of them could often be found in the evenings knitting in the shop after closing, aside from the Thursday night knitting club. On those nights the shop was filled with women and even a few men ranging in age from hipster to granny. That was Rin's favorite thing about having the shop; automatically being connected to such a diverse group of people with only their knitting in common. Not only that, but for that one common thread (pun intended) to be enough to hold them together.

Now as she sat in the back stacking up numbers, Kagome sat with needles in hand, chatting away as she knit the sleeve to a chunky sweater.

"I really don't get it. I mean, why would he think that we're not ready for kids? We've been married a year, and we both have stable jobs. Maybe he's worried about being a father, you know, since his family life wasn't so great growing up," she pondered, not even really talking to Rin anymore. Putting aside her annoyance with the numbers, she made a soft "m-hm" noise, allowing her friend to continue her rant. She was talking about her husband Inuyasha who she had met a year before meeting Rin , which was nearly three years ago. _Time flies, _she thought, reflecting on when she had first met her friend and how she had always complained about "the stupid guy who won't even admit we're dating." _Now they're thinking about having kids._

"Not to mention that he's been working late a lot. He just gets so wrapped up in his projects, but I guess I can't blame him for being passionate about his work. I am too, and besides that, he still leaves time to be passionate about me." She blushed a little as Rin fought to hold back a giggle at the thought of how vehemently the gruff man would deny being passionate about anything. "Anyway, what's going on with you?" she quickly changed the subject. Rin put on a smile.

" Same thing as usual; the numbers," Kagome looked concerned.

"The shop's not having trouble is it?" she asked, needles still in her anxiety.

"No, no, nothing like that. I'm just bad at math." Her friend's tense expression relaxed into a relieved smile.

"Whoa, you had me worried, there. So the books are giving you trouble?"

"Yeah," she admitted, pointing to the pile of receipts. "The profit margin that I know I have doesn't fit with the average."

"Why are you finding the average? That doesn't even make sense." Rin through her hands into the air.

"See? I don't even know that!" she exclaimed. Kagome shook her head with a smile.

"Honestly, I don't see how you made it this long." Rin laughed a little, wondering the same thing for herself. "Look, if you want, my brother-in-law is an accountant. He's top of the line, but I could get Inuyasha to ask a favor for me if you want."

"You would? That would be so sweet of you, Kagome."

"Sure! No problem." Without giving her time to knit another stitch, Rin smothered her in a hug.

"Rin, stop it. I'll drop a stitch," her friend admonished her, giggling a little. She quickly jumped off of her, examining her knitting. Both let out a sigh when it was apparent the "dropped stitch" bullet had been temporarily dodged, and Rin lapsed into thought.

It appeared that she was really going to hire someone to do her books for her. While she supposed it was a positive to be doing well enough that she could afford to pay him, she couldn't help but have a tiny case of hurt pride. Not only because her math skills were comparable to those of a sixth grader, but also because for the first time in her life, she had come across a problem knitting couldn't solve. Though it had taught her much, helped her through a lot, and (she knew yet ignored) was rooted in numbers, knitting simply couldn't teach her math. It looked like the accountant would have to help her out… a lot.


	2. invoices

A/N: Okay, here's chapter two. I'm already having a hard time keeping everyone in character, so if you have any suggestions or think I'm doing something wrong, just drop me a line. I hope you like reading it as much as I like writing it! Oh yeah, and I don't have the legal rights to Inuyasha.

Knitting Numbers

_What am I doing here?_ Sesshomaru asked himself with a sigh as he stood in front of the tiny shop. Considering that usually he did the taxes for some of the biggest and most complex companies in Japan, this would be child's play, but he wasn't the type of guy to take on anything less than a challenge. Damn his brother and that annoying wife of his, coercing him into helping some child, what was her name? Rin, was it?

After another moment of preparation, he calmly walked up the stairs to the second floor store with a sign over it displaying in large print the words "Cast On." A tiny bell rang above his head as he pushed open the heavy glass door, and suddenly his sight was assaulted by a million colors.

Everywhere he looked there was yarn, save for the back wall, which was covered in pointy sticks he could only assume where knitting needles. In the middle of the room was a large table, but even that was covered in yarn. Lining the walls were shelves separated into cubicles, each filled with a different color of yarn. Placed every so often were hand painted signs proclaiming that that was the "wall of wool," and that was the "shelve of silks." He struggled not to roll his eyes.

A loud clatter and stream of strangely childish curses (flooby-woogy, ect.) coming from the back of the shop caught his attention. Suddenly what he had assumed was a particularly tightly packed rectangle of red yarn burst open, revealing itself to be a thin door. In amusement he watched as a jean-clad rear end wiggled its way out first, followed by what appeared to be a girl being eaten by a lot of fuzzy purple angora. Softly he cleared his throat, alerting her attention to the fact that she had company.

"Oh, hi. I'm Rin," the fuzzy mass of purple introduced itself. "Um, let me just put this down."

Calmly he stood in the middle of the place by the table as she let the pile tumble to the floor. Making sure it was at least mostly out of the way, she bent over the table to scribble a note for the yarn, giving him a good view of her most un-childish anatomy under her white tank top. Being the gentleman he was, he averted his eyes, instead focusing on the aptly labeled "cashmere corner" until she spoke again.

"Okay, sorry about that," proffering her hand. "You must be Sesshomaru. We don't get a lot of men in here, and especially not like you. I mean, generally knitting and yarn crafts are associated with the elderly, but really the demographic is shifting to the younger…"

"Thank you," he cut across her rambling, shaking her petite hand firmly. "Yes, I'm Sesshomaru. I'm sure it will be a pleasure working with you," he recited the usual meaningless banter. Honestly, he wished she would just show him to the books so that he could finish up as quickly as possible and get out of this massive fuzz ball.

She seemed completely un-phased at his interruption, grinning so broadly he expected to find her showing off that she had just lost her twoo fwont tweef.

"Great. Thank you so much for doing this, by the way. I'll be paying you, of course, but I, um, can't pay you as much as I'm sure you usually get," she admitted with a bit of embarrassment as she led him to that ridiculous red door. "In here is where I keep the records and recipes and stuff."

Stooping his head so as not to hit it on the doorframe he followed her into a room even more cramped than the previous one with extra yarn in plastic bags stacked up to the ceiling. Nestled in the midst of this was a desk, and piled around that were binders, presumably filled with receipts. This might take longer than he thought.

"Don't you have all of this information on a computer?" he asked. She shrugged, which couldn't be a good sign.

"I think so, but I want to check it with all of the inventory. Plus, I think this would be a great time to get organized." Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. The place certainly needed it. "Anyway, all of the binders are labeled, and…"

"Anybody home?" a voice called from the front, cutting Rin off for the second time in five minutes.

"Oh," she exclaimed, seeming to remember that she was supposed to be running the shop. "I need to go help the customers. Do you think you can handle it?" Tempted to say "no, this place's a dump!" as he was, he simply nodded and picked up the first binder, the word "invoices" scrawled across the spine.

"Coming!" she called as she scooted through the door, though it was much less of a squeeze for her petite form than for him.

Left alone with the binders and surrounded by excess wool, he set to work. There were ten binders, two for every year the shop had been open. On one end of the desk he made two piles; the binders labeled "invoices," and the binders labeled "customer's purchases." This done, he began the task of wading through the mountain of papers before him.

***

Hours later, he glanced at the clock. Five o'clock, it read. Excluding frequent "check-ins" from the owner of the shop whenever business was slow, he had been entirely isolated in the tiny back room. Sometimes, when he was truly absorbed in his task, time went by quickly, but other times, when he had to tediously track down a single receipt, for example, time crawled. But now it was finally five, closing time, and he could go.

_I should have been in my office all day, filing reports and doing normal, orderly work, but no. I was here, _he thought begrudgingly as he packed up his things in his briefcase and stood to go. Walking stiffly on legs cramped from sitting so long, he shoved himself through the door and back into the colorful main room. Sitting at the table were his sister-in-law, the shop owner, and another woman with a high, tight pony tail that he didn't recognize.

"Oh, hi Sesshomaru," Rin said brightly. The other two, whose backs were toward him, turned to face him. Kagome smiled in greeting, but the other woman looked suspicious.

"Who's this?" she asked, eyes narrowed. Rin suddenly seemed to remember to make introductions, springing up from her seat.

"Sesshomaru, this is Sango. Sango, Sesshomaru. And, um, you already know Kagome," she paused as Kagome waved, then turned to Sango. "Sesshomaru is the accountant who's helping me organize my books." Sango seemed to accept this explanation and relaxed a bit as Rin walked over to where Sesshomaru was standing.

"So, how did it go?" she asked, smiling as usual. He looked down at her. She really was small for a woman old enough to have her own shop.

"Fine. I have an important job tomorrow, so I'll be back Wednesday."

"Okay, sounds good," she said, not seeming to notice that he'd implied she wasn't an important job. "I'll see you then. And again, thank you so much for doing this." She added, glancing at Kagome where she was knitting and laughing with that Sango woman about something.

"It's her and my brother you should thank," he reminded her, and she nodded.

"Oh, I have. Profusely. She is such a kind friend, don't you think?" she commented, gazing fondly on her friends. Sesshomaru didn't respond, instead making a move for the door.

"I'll see you Wednesday, then," he said, effectively ending the conversation.

"Of course. Bye bye, see you then," she called happily behind him, waving as he left.

She was such a strange girl, never seeming the least bit daunted by him. People like that were few and far between, and most of the time they were just too stupid to know when he was dismissing them, but she didn't strike him as unintelligent. Really, she seemed to just be a generally content-with-life type of person, and why shouldn't she be? _She obviously has a job she loves_, he thought, thinking of all that yarn and her bright smile as she showed him around. Uhg, but her organizational skills needed work, and he was the lucky one who would do it. At least as soon as he was done, he wouldn't have to ever go back to that silly yarn shop ever again. At least there was that to look forward to.


	3. knit two together

Knitting Numbers

Rin couldn't believe her luck. Of all the boring, ancient accountants out there, she had gotten the one that was gorgeous. I mean, she had seen Inuyasha and he was sort-of cute, so she should have realized his brother wouldn't be ugly, but he was just so… beautiful. She could still see his long, white-blond hair and incredible eyes, so light a brown she could swear they were golden. Not to mention his towering height and intriguingly stoic face.

And of course, she had babbled on and made a fool of herself just because there was a good-looking guy in her shop. Well, admittedly, she wasn't that used to being around men due to the fact that they weren't often in the shop and the shop was basically her life, but that was no reason to act all stupid.

After Kagome and Sango had left that night, she stood alone in her store for a moment, taking in the place she loved so well. Straight out of collage she had gotten a pretty good job working with a law firm, and soon she was on her way to making partner as a lawyer. It had made quite the commotion, a 22-year-old about to be made partner, with no "special favors" or bribes. Yet even though she knew she should have been happy, she wasn't. In fact, the only thing she enjoyed anymore was knitting, and after a particularly heart-wrenching case, her path was clear. Six months later, she opened the shop.

As much as she loved it, starting a business from scratch and then keeping it going hadn't left much room for anything else. Her best friends she knew and kept in touch with because they were in the shop all the time, and she hadn't had a steady boyfriend in years. Occasionally she went on a date, but never anything serious. Eventually she sort-of gave up and stopped thinking about it, and she had been okay with that for a long time, so why was she thinking about it now?

Suddenly she was jerked from her thoughts by the buzzing of her cell phone.

"Hello?" she answered it, a little startled still.

"Hey Rin!" she heard Kagome's cheerful voice greeted her. "What's up?

"Oh, I'm still at the shop," she said, glad it was just her friend.

"You are? Boy, you need to get out more, which is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about." Rin groaned. It wasn't the first time Kagome had tried to "help her," a past endeavor involving a very embarrassing attempt at clubbing.

"What this time? If you want me to wear any more leather, the answer is no." She really had to put her foot down. Kagome giggled on the other end of the line.

"Okay, okay! But this time there's no leather. I was going to ask if you wanted to come over for dinner tomorrow. Sango and Miroku are coming too, so I thought you might want to."

Rin was a little surprised. It wasn't unusual for Sango and her boyfriend Miroku to see Kagome and Inuyasha outside of the shop because Miroku was Inuyasha's friend from way back, but she almost never saw them. They were just knitting friends, but, then again, she had known Kagome for nearly three years. Now was a good a time as any to start a real friendship outside of knitting. Still, if it was Sango and Miroku, Kagome and Inuyasha, that would leave her as…

"But Kagome, won't I be a bit of a fifth wheel?" she asked, hopes of accepting dashed.

"Oh, no, Sesshomaru will be there too. You can keep each other company."

Uh-oh. Sesshomaru? There was no way she could manage to keep it professional around him all night at dinner. She had a hard enough time with it today at the shop, and she wasn't even with him the whole time. But she couldn't strand him in the awkward position of fifth wheel, could she?

"All right, I'll come. Thanks for inviting me."

"No problem! I was just wondering why we never see each other outside of the shop, and then I realized it was because I never invited you anywhere. This is really casual, I mean, it's on a Tuesday, so just wear whatever. I can't wait to see you there." Kagome chatted, obviously happy that her friend was coming.

"Won't you see me tomorrow anyway?" Rin asked, remembering that Kagome was having trouble with her sweater.

"Well, yeah, but you know what I mean. It'll be fun."

After chatting for a few more minutes, they hung up, leaving Rin alone in the quite shop once again. Silently saying goodnight to the place, she locked up then walked down into the subway. A short while later, she was home, back to her cozy apartment.

Immediately greeting her at the door were her two twin cats, Ah and Un, dark brown fur making them near invisible in the dark. Flipping the lights on as she dropped her things on the couch, she walked over to the small kitchen adjoining the living room. Ah and Un followed behind her, mewing for food.

The apartment itself was neat and orderly; chock full of yarn as it was. There wasn't a room that didn't have at least a bit of yarn in it (including the bathroom) and she had enjoyed the freedom that living alone gave her to do so. An entire bookshelf in the living room was filled with yarn, making it look like a replica of the yarn shop. This was her space, and she liked it like that.

"Hello kitties. You need food, don't you?" she cooed to them as they circled her ankles. After feeding them, she got something to eat for herself then went to bed, thinking of how potentially awkward tomorrow's dinner could be.

***

The next day at six found Rin standing in front of Kagome's house, dressed in jeans and a crimson top that she hoped was Kagome's definition of casual. Her wavy and usually misbehaving dark brown hair was left down, falling halfway down her back.

The day had gone as it usually did, with a few new customers and the regulars coming by on their lunch break. Sango and Kagome hadn't stayed after closing today because of the dinner, and Rin had changed out of her work apron and black clothes at the shop because she wouldn't have time to close up, go back to her place, get ready, and then go all the way to their house just outside of the city.

"Hey Rin," Inuyasha greeted her gruffly at the door. She smiled at him, but she knew why he was on edge. Kagome had told her that the two brothers didn't get along very well, so being in the same house must be hard for them. She hadn't said exactly why they didn't get along, but Rin was pretty sure it had something to do with the fact that they were just half-brothers.

Inuyasha led her into the dining room where everyone was already sitting and talking and took a seat across from his wife, who sprang up to greet her.

"Hey! I'm so glad you came," she said, giving her a hug.

As soon as she let go she turned her to the table and shepherded her to the last empty seat, right next to Sesshomaru. Sango was sitting across the table from her next to Miroku, whom she had met only once very briefly. He smiled and waved like they were old friends then turned to Sango and said something that made her smile like Rin had never seen her. _They are such a cute couple_, she thought, then looked at where Inuyasha was sitting at the end of the table, pouting, and Kagome was standing behind him with a hand on his shoulder. The same could be said for them.

Sesshomaru looked at her as she sat down, and then went back to carefully not looking at his brother.

"What's up with you guys?" she whispered to him. He turned to her, raising an eyebrow.

"Since when is that your business?" he asked her right back.

She smiled her signature grin then shrugged, attention stolen by Kagome, who cleared her throat and straightened up.

"Okay, time to eat! Rin, will you help me bring the food in?" she asked her, motioning to the kitchen. "So?" she prodded once they were in the food-filled room.

"So what?" Rin was bewildered. Was Kagome up to something after all?

"You and Sess," Kagome clarified, but now she was just really confused.

"Sess as in Sesshomaru? There is no me and Sesshomaru. What are you talking about?" she asked, looking at her smiling friend.

"Oh, come on. It's so obvious," said Kagome, rolling her eyes. "You have a crush on my brother-in-law. Oh my gosh, that means if you guys get married, we'd be sisters!"

"Kagome, no one's getting married. It's ridiculous to even think, I mean, he's seven years older than me, and completely out of my class, and…" she trailed off. Even to her those arguments sounded weak, and she could feel a tell-tale blush creeping up her cheeks. The way Kagome was smiling at her made her want to run and hide. Did she really have a crush on him, like a little school girl?

"Uh-huh, just as I though. And I want you to know I'm supporting you one hundred percent. You guys would be so cute together," Kogome gushed, then shoved a plate into Rin's hands and grabbed one herself. "Come on, everyone's waiting."

Rin gulped then took a breath she hoped would steady her and followed Kagome back into the dining room. So her friend did have ulterior motives in getting her to come tonight. She should have known. And what if she really did like Sesshomaru, her accountant!?

Taking her seat once again, she decided to approach whatever feeling she may have maturely, but her mouth decided otherwise.

"Watch out for the Bach Choy, I choked on that stuff once," she informed him, then looked quickly down at her plate before he could raise his eyebrow at her again. Did she really just say that?

"I'll be sure to." She could hear the laughter in his usually emotionless voice. After eating in silence for a while, listening to the other couples laughing and talking, the silence between the two was broken once again, but this time not by Rin.

"I'll be done re-organizing your paperwork by the end of the week, but if you'd like, I'll stay on as your accountant. Once a week, I'll stop by and check in on your books," he offered. She was touched actually. He didn't seem like the kind of guy that did charity work.

"Oh, um, thank you so much. That's so sweet of you!" she exclaimed once some of the shock had worn off. He merely nodded and went back to his meal. Rin, meanwhile, took to staring at the older man's countenance. Okay, she could admit to herself that he was handsome, but that meant nothing!

The rest of dinner passed in a silence between the two that was awkward for Rin while for Sesshomaru seemed totally fine. As the meal came to a close, Rin was still in a state of confusion as to her feelings. If she really did like him, she'd have to dismiss him, which she didn't particularly want to do since he was excellent and she didn't have to pay much for his services. But it wouldn't be professional to keep him on, and besides that, it would be too hard to regularly see a man who would never return her affection.

Once it was time to say goodbye, Sesshomaru was the first to go, much to Inuyasha's joy. Once his brother was gone, he relaxed enough to act like a semi-normal human being. Sango hugged Rin and Miroku bowed over her hand before they left, leaving Rin to be the last to go.

"We're really glad you could come. I hope we can do it again sometime," Kagome suggested, something in her voice giving away that she was playing matchmaker again.

"Oh, it was fun," she lied, hugging her friend and giving a nod to Inuyasha. "See you tomorrow."

She guessed it really would have been fun, but for now her head was swimming with thoughts of Sesshomaru. Last week she didn't think of dating as an option, but now she couldn't help it. Marriage even seemed like a possibility when she thought of his quiet wit and reserved humor. How was one guy she met yesterday changing everything so fast?

Author's Note: This chapter was a bit longer to make up for the fact that the next one may be a bit shorter. As always, I love to hear what you think! Send a review if you want me to know what you're thinking!


	4. annuity

Knitting Numbers

How was a silly girl he met a few days ago changing everything so fast? For the second time he was standing before the shop, looking in the glass door at the shop's owner for just a moment before stepping in. As soon as she saw him she strode over, a few wisps of hair that had escaped her braid fluttering around her face as she walked. Her usual huge grin split her face and she came up to him, greeting him like an old friend.

"Good morning, Sesshomaru! You're early," she said, looking up into his golden eyes with her own light brown ones. Today she was wearing a kimono-inspired dress covered in orange and white squares and bound with a green sash.

"Is that a problem?" he asked, trying to ignore how good she looked in that dress. Since when did he think about things like wisps of hair and dresses?

"Of course not, I'm happy to see you. Come on to the back," she cheerfully said, leading him through the shop. He resisted looking in ungentlemanly places as she walked, taking him back to the tiny little room that, now that he was in it again, wasn't as awful as he remembered.

He took a seat and was pleased to see that nothing was disturbed. Silently he reached for the next binder in his line-up and opened it on the desk before him, working for a minute before realizing she was still standing behind him.

"Yes?" he invited her to enlighten him as to why she was still there. She shuffled awkwardly and he looked around to see that she had her hands behind her back like a nervous child. God, she was cute.

"Oh, well, as I said, you're early, so I thought I'd keep you company," she explained, making no move to sit in the chair by the desk. As soon as he nodded his approval, however, she jumped into the seat and started chatting, all anxiety forgotten.

"I'm glad you let me stay. I do love the shop, but on slow days like this, the company is nice," she babbled, quickly forgetting that it was him she was supposed to be keeping company, not the other way around. He raised an eyebrow at his calculator as he worked, almost smiling.

"How can it be a slow day already if you haven't even opened?" he asked without really caring about the answer. It didn't really occur to him that she would've kept talking regardless to if he responded or not.

"Well, it's Wednesday. That's always a slow day, but not as bad as Tuesday s. They're the worst. There is nothing more dull than a Tuesday. How about you? You're an accountant, though, so every day's a slow day, right?" she giggled to herself then nudged him a little when she got no response. "That wasn't rhetorical."

"You're right, every day's a slow day," he answered her, still not looking up from his work. She frowned.

"I was only joking. Don't you like your job?" He finally looked at her and was secretly shocked to see the concern on her face.

"I do, it's just not as exciting as some jobs," he told her, wondering why she should care if he liked his job or not. It was good for her if he liked it, after all; he was her accountant, regardless of the fact that she talked to him like a friend.

"Ah. I understand. Back when I was a lawyer—" she started, but Sesshomaru cut her off.

"You were a lawyer?" he asked, ignoring his work for a minute.

"Oh, yeah, before I opened the shop, but I didn't like it. There was this one case where…" she stopped, biting her lip before continuing. "Where a woman's son died, and the state was suing her for neglect, but she didn't, she wouldn't have. The son, he wasn't well, but she couldn't pay to take care of him. It was just so horrible, I mean, the poor woman lost her son, and the first thing they did was accuse her of killing him, or at least say it was her fault. And we lost," saying this, she seemed to wake up from the memory of it. "I was defending her, and we didn't have substantial evidence. It was all so heartless, and I hated it so much, I left and stared up the shop."

It was hard to imagine her hating anything, but if she was capable of the emotion, that would be something she would hate. She had almost started crying just thinking about it.

"Why did you go into that profession in the first place?" he asked beside himself. An almost dreamy expression crossed her face, her eyes clouding over and a vague smile appearing on her lips.

"I wanted to help people. I guess I didn't realize that to do so I'd have to lose myself," she told him, but it seemed more like she was telling herself. It was easy to see the guilt she harbored for what felt to her like abandoning people who needed her.

"You still help people. Kagome would be a wreck without her knitting," he consoled her. What was this girl doing to him? He didn't console anyone. Ever.

She plastered on a smile he was pretty sure was fake and nodded.

"I know. And I'm sure it must be true if even you've noticed, "she teased him. He allowed himself to look mildly affronted for her sake.

"You wound me," he told her in his usual colorless voice, causing her to break into a genuine grin and laugh.

"Oh, it sounds like it," she said sarcastically once she had calmed down a bit.

Sesshomaru glanced at his watch, surprised to see that it was an hour after the shop was to open.

"Shouldn't you be in the front?" he reminded her, but she smiled and shook her head.

"Nope, Kagome's running it for me today. Seemed to think I needed some time off, but she's having me stay to help her if anything goes wrong," she informed him happily.

"So basically, you have the day off, but you have to stay here anyway," he clarified, raising an eyebrow yet again. His sister-in-law could be so foolish. But Rin didn't seem to mind at all, smiling and nodding, and, for some reason he couldn't think of, blushing lightly.

After a moment of silence with him working and her sitting with her legs crossed and her hands on her knees, Rin dropped her stance and picked up her knitting from the corner of the desk.

"I'm making a sock," she said as though he had asked after working on it for a while.

"I see," said Sesshomaru without looking up. She ignored him, knitting for a while more before speaking again.

"Do you know why knitters make socks?" she asked, not waiting for an answer before continuing. "I mean, it seems pretty pointless because it's so much work for something you can get at the store. It's more expensive and you have to use these tiny needles, so why go to all the work?" She looked at him, pausing for affect before answering her own question.

"Because socks are love. If you knit someone a sweater they wear it their whole life, and if you knit a blanket or a shawl it becomes an heirloom. But socks, although they take just the same effort, are temporary. If used properly, which all knitters hope they are, they'll become full of holes and you'll have to throw them away."

She had caught his attention again, and again he found himself disregarding his work to listen to her. "So how's that love?" he asked.

"Because the knitter is setting aside pride to keep someone's feet warm. No one oos and ahs over socks, and in the end, they get thrown away, but we do it anyway. Out of love," she said, looking into his eyes. She had the most lovely cinnamon-brown eyes. He blinked, breaking the moment and quickly going back to work.

"Who are those socks for?" he asked. That was a normal question. It's not like he was trying to discreetly find out if she had a boyfriend.

"They're samples, for the store. I test out the yarn and pattern then set the socks out for people to see how it all works up," she explained.

"You're giving pure love to the store?"

"It's what I do," she said simply. "If I put love into my work, and the customers touch it, and see it, then they get some of the love. That's the hope, anyway."

This time he was only pretending to be working. Everything was so simple in her eyes. The way she talked about everything, the passion she had. Just thinking about her last case nearly brought her to tears, and she smiled so brightly when she talked about knitting and love, which were the same thing to her. It almost made him wish that he felt half that strongly about anything.

"So, what do you love? I mean, what's your knitting?" she asked him as thought she knew exactly what he was just thinking.

"Nothing. I just do my job," he answered her. Wow that sounded lame.

"So numbers. Numbers are your knitting," she smiled at her discovery. "And right now, you're knitting numbers."

No, right now he was pretending to knit numbers. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, each of them absorbed in their tasks. She didn't seem to need him to respond, and he had never met anyone who could go so long without getting frustrated with him and his quiet.

The day passed like this, each of them diligently going about their jobs with Rin occasionally saying something or going to the front if Kagome needed help. She always seemed to come back from helping her a little flushed and was bashful for about two seconds before melting back into her old self. He found this odd, of course, but didn't ask, figuring it would bring on a wave of shy behavior from the usually exuberant girl.

Finally, as it neared closing, Rin put down her knitting and stretched. Yawning hugely, she put a hand on Sesshomaru's shoulder and shook it lightly.

"Hey you, Worker-Worklieness. It's time to close up," she nagged him, and he looked at his stack of binders. He was behind because, well, she was so distracting! Sighing, he stood and followed her out into the near-empty store. Kagome was the only one there, talking with Rin who had gone a little ahead of him.

"—uh-huh, like I'm going to believe that," Kagome was antagonizing her friend, who merely smiled.

"It's true. And you know, you knew Inuyasha for ages before you started dating, right?" she brought up. Kagome blushed a little.

"That was different," she said softly. Rin looked triumphant.

"So leave me alone about it, okay?" her friend merely shrugged then smiled brightly once she saw her brother-in-law standing behind them.

"I'm leaving," he announced. Kagome shrugged again then went back to fussing with the register, but Rin looked a little disappointed.

"Oh, okay. You can stay if you want," she offered, but he shook his head.

"I really should be going. I'll see you tomorrow," he said, then stepped out of the shop as she waved behind him. He really did have to go, or else he would have been tempted to stay all night. Walking down the street to the subway, he decided that the little shop really wasn't so bad after all.

A/N: Here's the latest chapter, fresh from my brain. I want to thank all my reviewers so far and remind you that if I've screwed anything up, feel free to tell me. Thanks!


	5. knit two, purl two

Knitting Numbers

Silence filled the office that was always silent. In fact, he frequently told people that it had better be quiet, yet now what had once be a comfort irked him. Really, it was far too quiet and too open as well. How was he supposed to get anything done in a place so clean and sterile that it seemed as though he were a patient in a doctor's office?

Suddenly he was broken from his reverie by someone busting through his door with such urgency you'd think a mad rhino was after him.

"Sesshomaru, what are you doing here?" his brother asked, plopping down into a seat in front of the large desk in the middle of the room.

"I work here, Brother. That question is more appropriately posed to you," Sesshomaru responded, but was interrupted by a feeble knock at the door followed by his secretary poking her head in.

"Um, Mr. Taisho, your brother is… oh," she informed him, then, noticing she was a little late, blushed furiously.

"Yes, I noticed. Thank you," he said in a formal tone that made "thank you" sound like "go away". She quickly ducked out and scampered back to her desk.

"So, why are you here?" Sesshomaru asked, getting annoyed already. Must be a record.

"Kagome wanted me to tell you something," he said, quite unabashed that his wife was ordering him all over town. "I went to Rin's first, but you weren't there."

"We agreed I would come in at noon today," Sesshomaru informed him. "Why didn't you just call me?"

At this question Inuyasha looked a little uncomfortable, but oddly happy at the same time. "It's not really the kind of thing you call to tell," he muttered, then, taking his brother's raised eyebrow as enough invitation to continue, broke into a shy grin. "Kagome and I are having a baby."

This time both of his eyebrows rose, but just fractionally. That woman had agreed to pass on his idiot brother's DNA? Surprising, but it would be alright to be an uncle, he supposed.

"I thought you did not want a child, Inuyasha," he reminded his seemingly overjoyed brother.

"Keh, that was before," he retorted, daring his brother to suggest again that he didn't want to be a father. Sesshomaru didn't respond, but he had to admit that his little brother seemed excited. How like him to fight with all his will against something he actually wanted. The fool.

"Is your wife pleased?" he asked, and Inuyasha nodded.

"Yeah, she's flipping out. She's going to tell Rin and the other women tonight."

"Why should I care?" he said as he carefully went back to work. His brother scoffed.

"Whatever. So are you going to congratulate me or what? 'Cause I'm not gonna sit around all day waiting for you to—"

"Congratulations on your ability to reproduce," he said sarcastically, but Inuyasha simply shrugged, recognizing that was the best he was going to get.

"Keh, glad you're happy for me. Anyway, the reason I told you that Kagome's announcing it to everyone tonight is that she doesn't want you telling Rin and spoiling it."

Sesshomaru opened his mouth to tell his brother that he didn't even talk to the silly girl, but then stopped, realizing that was no longer true. In fact, he didn't even think of her as a silly girl anymore; she was a woman who had a sense of independence and could take care of herself.

"I think I know when not to speak, quite unlike you," he said instead, and luckily Inuyasha was too busy being insulted to notice his usually stoic elder brother's hesitation.

"If you're just going to insult me then I think I'll leave," he said with an attempt at dignity.

"I have no problem with that. Inform Kagome that I'm happy for her," he instructed the retreating back of his brother who grunted in response then was gone.

Sesshomaru sighed once he was alone again. So, his brother was having a child. Well, he had certainly beaten him at it, seeing as he was nearly six years younger than him. He knew he still had time; he was only 34, after all. Still, he hated it whenever Inuyasha beat him at anything. It wasn't his fault he hadn't met a girl he would even consider having a family with, but, he realized with a pang, that was no longer true either.

* * *

"Hello?" Rin answered her phone that afternoon as she stood behind the table with a computer/cash register on it that served as the check-out counter of Cast On. Sesshomaru was sitting at the yarn and pattern-laden oak table in the center of the room, patiently waiting for her to print up some records for him to cross-reference with.

"Hey, it's Kagome. I have big news!" the animated voice on the other end of the line squealed.

"Oh?"

"Well, I can't tell you. At least, not yet. I'm going to announce it at knitting tonight so that everyone knows."

"What are you talking about?" Rin asked, concerned that her friend may explode from how excited she sounded.

"Just make sure everyone's there tonight, okay?" Kagome asked, now sounding nervous, as though worried Rin would say no.

"Of course," she instantly agreed, though she was still confused.

"Okay, I gotta go. Thanks, and I'll see you later!" Kagome said then hung up. Rin shrugged, then printed off the papers for Sesshomaru.

"Kagome said she had big news," she commented to him as she handed over the records. "Has Inuyasha mentioned anything?"

"No," he lied, leading the way to the cramped back room.

"Hm, wonder what it could be. Actually, it's good she called. I'd forgotten it was Thursday," she said, adding quickly "Every Thursday a bunch of people come for a knitting club after we close."

"Don't you do that every day with your friend Sango and my brother's wife?" he asked, causing her to roll her eyes at his back.

"That's not a bunch of people, Sessh, that's only three," she told him in exasperation. How anti-social could a guy be? "Anyway, we start at five, so if you want to leave a little early to avoid the knitters, that's okay. I'm not sure how they'd react to you…" She trailed off, thinking of how a crowd of mostly menopausal women drinking wine would act at the appearance of a handsome man in their knitting circle. She shuddered.

"I'll be fine, thank you," he responded, chuckling at her skeptic look. "I think I can handle a bunch of old women."

"Yeah, but they've got numbers on you. I mean, I can see you taking down two, maybe three, but there'll be nearly fifteen. It's risky," she said with the utmost gravity, cracking up a second later and trying to ignore how pleased she felt when she saw Sesshomaru smile.

That evening after everyone was settled around the heavy table, each with a glass of white wine (no one wanted to risk staining their knitting with red), Kagome stood and chinked her glass with a metal needle.

"Every one, I have an announcement," she said, and every one quieted down and looked at her. Once she had the room's attention, she grinned broadly. "I'm pregnant!"

Everyone immediately congratulated her, smiling and reaching to pat her or give her a hug. She handed her glass to Rin as the two shared a look of silent understanding and joy. Rin alone knew how much this meant to her; she had confided her worries only to her that Inuyasha would never be ready, that it would never happen for her because soon she would be too old and all of the usual worries of baby-crazy women.

"Drink this for me. I can't!" she exclaimed joyously.

"How did you convince Inuyasha?" Rin asked her, taking the cup. Kagome looked mischievous.

"I stopped taking birth control. Just as I suspected, once it had already happened he was thrilled and admitted he didn't even know why he was resisting the idea in the first place," she explained.

"Kagome, you shouldn't trick you husband," said Sango from behind her, but she was smiling just as widely as everyone else. When Kagome turned her back to hug Sango, Rin downed her wine, setting down the glass and picking up her own cup.

The rest of the meeting passed with the knitters excitedly giving advice, talking about their own experiences, and generally overwhelming the poor newly-pregnant woman. During this time, though she was all smiles and well-wishing, Rin was deep in thought. Sipping away at her wine all the while, she reflected on her life; she was 27 without any hope of a boyfriend and even if she did have someone, by the time they were married and eventually ready for kids, she would be at least in her thirties! Not that there was anything wrong with that, but when had she ever made time for dating anyway? At this rate, she'd never meet anyone and if she ever did, her baby-maker would be all dried up!

This train of thought could have continued all night if she hadn't realized that she was knitting on two projects with her four hands. She looked up at Kagome who was sitting beside her and started when she saw that the entire yarn shop was doubled and sort-of spinning in an odd way. Squinting at her empty wine glass, she wondered without really caring much how much wine she had drank and, more importantly, when had she installed green and red lights to the shop?

* * *

Sesshomaru glanced at his watch and was surprised to see how late it was. He could have left an hour ago! Wondering where the time had gone, he gathered his things and squeezed though the tiny door.

Before he had a chance to take in the room that was more crowded than he had ever seen it before, he was rushing forward to support a stumbling Rin. Kagome and Sango were at her shoulders a moment later, looking concerned.

"I don't know what's wrong with her, she only had three cups of wine," said Sango, eyeing her friend who was now leaning against Sesshomaru.

"She must have a really low tolerance for alcohol," Kagome chimed in. At this, Rin raised her head from its rest on his chest.

"I'm fine, really. Just a little unsteady," she insisted, proving her own point wrong as she tried to walk defiantly towards the door and ran into a shelf of yarn.

"I'm taking you home," Sesshomaru said, leaving no room for argument. Kagome nodded her approval of this plan and even Sango seemed to think it was a good idea.

"We can close up," she offered. Rin tried to protest but her friends quickly over-rode her. "You're going with Sesshomaru."

"Fine, fine. Just make sure the door's locked when you… you leave, kay?" she instructed, focusing on a point slightly to the left of Kagome. Her friends both nodded then pushed the pair towards the door.

"Thanks Sess," said Kagome as she closed the door behind them. Sesshomaru nodded deftly then began the task of negotiating a slightly-intoxicated Rin down the steps.

"You're pretty," she slurred as they reached the bottom and he unlocked his car.

"You're drunk," he parried, ignoring the complement.

"Not that drunk. I can do it myself," she said as he tried to help her into the car. Once both were securely in their seats, Sesshomaru pulled out of the parking lot.

"Where do you live?" he asked her, glancing over to the passenger seat to see a slight smile on her lips. It was almost… seductive.

"What?" she asked. "How come you're looking at me like that?"

He blinked, breaking the trance he hadn't even realized she had put him under. "Nothing. Where do you live?"

"Oh, not too far. Go past the big statue thingy and turn that way," she explained, flapping her hands around. He sighed, remembering that crazy people got crazier when they were drunk.

"Do you have an address?"

"Um, yeah. 2-7-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku."

They rode in silence for a while, Rin enrapt with Tokyo at night and Sesshomaru concentrating on the road. Ever since his realization that morning he had found it excruciating to be with her. It wasn't that he didn't like her company, no, quite the opposite. He liked it too much, _her_ too much. After spending his life despising basically every one, he was finding it hard to come to terms with the fact that he actually liked a girl he had known for a week.

"Sesshy?" she broke the silence. "Why are you always so grumpy?"

_Asked with the innocence of a child_, he thought, reminding himself that she was, she was just a girl and he had only been thinking of her in any other way because he had been spending so much time with her. Yeah, that was it. "What do you mean?" he asked her calmly, ignoring the conflict in his head.

"I mean, you never smile. How come?" He spared her a glance, wishing he didn't when he saw that her head was cocked at a slight angle like a lost puppy. That was not helping his argument that he didn't think she was cute at all and he didn't like her one bit.

"I don't see why I should," he replied. She gasped dramatically.

"That's a horrible way to look at it!" she exclaimed. He simply shrugged and let the car fall into silence for a moment before he turned into her block. She guided him through it to her apartment complex (only instructing him into a dead end once or twice) then stumbled out of the car, refusing Sesshomaru's help again.

"Are you going to walk me up or not?" she asked impatiently when he hesitated; one minute she was refusing help, the next she was demanding it! Sighing, he nodded and proffered his arm to her which she took, and led the way to the stairwell. He waited patiently while she fished out her keys from her purse and unlocked the door. There was a pause before she went in as they both looked at each other, the battle still raging in his mind and not helped by the fact that it would be so easy to kiss her…

"You want to come in?" she asked. He looked at his watch; it was late.

"You're drunk," he said for a second time.

"Not that drunk," she reminded him before pressing her lips against his. Suddenly the side that was telling him he wasn't at all attracted to her lost by a landslide and she pulled him inside.

A/N: That's as close as you'll get to a lemon from me. I just can't write them. Oh, and fun fact, I think the address I give as Rin's is actually a post office in Tokyo. That made me laugh... she lives at a post office... Also, thank you to my reviewers, you've been nothing but kind!


	6. insolvency

Knitting Numbers

The next morning Rin awoke groggily, trying to remember why her head hurt. Last night was all a blur; she remembered that Kagome was pregnant, and then there had been wine, and Sesshomaru had offered to take her home…

_Oh shit!_ she thought franticly, rolling over to see the other half of the bed was empty. _Okay, so maybe it was a dream, all a dream… then why am I naked? _This was not good, not at all. She had slept with Sesshomaru! How could he let her seduce him? She wasn't _that _sexy. She'd never be able to face him again, but she had to, and in just a few hours at that.

Quickly she sprang from the bed, looking for a note from him or anything, but she was disappointed. _Nice, _she thought beside herself, _he just leaves before I'm even awake. Classy, Sessh. _Sighing, she grabbed her towel and went to go take a shower. Not that she'd be able to wash her embarrassment off, but it was worth a try.

She got to work early to find everything in perfect order, courtesy of her good friends. Kagome would have a fit when she found out what they had done, and Sango would probably kill him. The bell above the door rang to let her know she had a customer, and she was about to tell whoever it was that they weren't open for another thirty minutes when she saw it was Sesshomaru. She froze, taking in the man before her; his long sliver-white hair in perfect order, a neat black suit, and his usual stoic mask in place.

"Hello," she greeted him nervously. He simply stood there, looking at her as if memorizing every little detail, but she was unnerved by the attention.

"I think you need to find a new accountant," he said at last, voice emotionless.

"You're quitting?" she asked, though she had to admit it made sense.

"Of course. After last night's… mishap, it's only appropriate."

He thought of it as a mishap? She tried not to let that sting, but to no avail. "Oh, um, naturally."

"I know several very good ones. I can send one over if you'd like," he offered, but she just stared at him, something inside her breaking.

"So that's it? It's like it never happened?" He paused, seeming a bit taken aback.

"Rin, I—" he started, but suddenly she found herself not caring much what he had to say, what his excuse would be.

"What? You can't possibly stay here and risk actually having a single emotion for once in your life?" she was practically shouting at him now, really angry for the first time in recent memory, and she didn't even know why. "I just can't believe I was dumb enough to like you! The first guy I care about in five years, and you're so emotionally stunted I might as well try talking to a doorknob!"

"I'm emotionally stunted?" he came back, voice still level, but eyes flashing. "Who is it that never allows herself to get upset over anything?"

"I'm upset now!" she yelled. "I'm not stupid. Every time you insulted me, I just shrugged it off, figuring you'd open up eventually, but now… Now we're finally getting somewhere and you act like it never happened! I think you're afraid."

"I fear nothing," he said defensively, but she just scoffed, laughing humorlessly.

"Except for commitment, or sharing emotions, or maybe caring just a little bit. You're so selfish." He tried to interject, but she was done with him. She looked down, determined not to cry for him. "You're right; I do need to find someone else to work for me. You're dismissed. Leave now." By the time she looked up, he was gone, leaving her feeling used, hurt, and stupid, but most of all, alone.

***

A week passed slowly, then a month. A new accountant came, sent by Sesshomaru. He was about ninety and couldn't hear a word she said, but he got the job done. For that she was glad, but there still seemed to be something missing. She told no one about the night before she fired Sesshomaru, insisting that nothing happened. Life continued as usual, so one Saturday afternoon Sango and Kagome were gathered around the table in the shop with her, working on their knitting.

"What have you been working on? It looks like you're nearly done," Sango commented, eyeing the black work coming from Rin's needles. In her own lap was a green scarf that looked like a moth had chewed holes in it, it was so full of mistakes.

"Oh, just some socks," Rin said, hiding her work in her hands.

"I don't understand why you're being so modest. I'd love to knit like you," Sango said longingly. Rin just looked at her lap.

"It's nothing," she muttered.

"Hey, what's up with you? You've seemed really down for a while now," Kagome said. She was knitting baby booties.

"Nothing," she said again, burying her knitting farther into her lap.

"Come on. We tell each other everything," Sango reminded her, guilting her into spilling the secret she'd wanted to for a month.

"Sesshomaru didn't leave because he wanted to. He left because the night he drove me home, he stayed over," she admitted.

"You slept with your accountant!" Sango exclaimed, causing a few fussy old ladies to look at her with raised eyebrows. "Sorry," she muttered.

"I can't believe that. We just thought you two had a disagreement, and that's why he left," Kagome said, eyes wide.

"Well, we…um, we did have a bit of a fight the next morning. He said it wouldn't be appropriate for him to work for me anymore, and I told him he was an emotionally stunted coward who didn't care about anyone but himself. I feel so guilty."

Both Kagome and Sango immediately rebelled, telling her she was right to kick him to the curb if he was just going to ignore that anything had happened. She shook her head.

"I didn't even give him a chance," she said sadly. "Before he could even speak I just yelled at him."

"Rin…"

"These socks are for him. And even though I may never see him again, I haven't stopped working on them," she said, stopping when weeks of unshed tears began to spill out of her eyes.

"No wonder he's seemed so distant lately," Kagome mused, patting Rin on the shoulder comfortingly. "I mean, he's always like that, but he's seemed in an outright bad mood lately."

"Really?" she asked hopefully, eyes watery.

"Yeah. He won't come over for dinner lately either. I think if you called, he'd talk to you," she said causing Rin's eyes to brighten.

"I know just what I'll do."

* * *

Life had been dull since he had quit, he had to admit at least that to himself. He had sent over someone else to the little shop, though he regretted now that he had recommended the oldest, most crotchety old man in the business. Well, she had made him pretty angry… still, for the first time in his life, he felt guilty. Not just for his little act of revenge, but for what he said the last time he saw her, for leaving before she was awake, and for screwing up something that could have been really great. He was sorry for all of it, but mostly he was sorry that he hurt her.

Shaking his head, he reminded himself that it wouldn't do to stew in it. It had been a month; it was ridiculous that he was even still thinking about it. There had been other girls before her, though admittedly none were even close to being as pretty as she was, or as funny and smart. Sure, she was special, but that was no reason to get all tied up in knots over nothing.

That's all it really was in the end—nothing. He had known her for a week, talked with her, then they had one night together. One night that she was drunk for, he might add, which is why he called it a mishap. How should he know that she wouldn't think of it the same way as him? If anything, he would have thought she would be even more embarrassed then he was for taking advantage of her impaired state of mind.

Suddenly a knock at the door jerked him from the thoughts he shouldn't have even been having. He strode over to the door, wondering who would be coming to call on a Sunday morning. It was probably his brother or his wife, coming to invite him over for dinner yet again. And see a constant reminder of the life he didn't have? No, thank you.

He opened the door and looked around. The street was deserted save for a few cars passing by. Finally he looked down and saw a small package wrapped in black tissue paper with colorful stars pattering it. When he picked it up it felt as though there were fabric inside. Curious, he took it inside, setting it on the table in his kitchen before unwrapping it carefully. Inside a second layer of red tissue was a folded pair of socks. They were plain black dress socks except for at the very top of the leg. There, in a variety of crayon-box colors, was stitched a border of random numbers, each at a different angle to the one next to it and each a different color.

As he lifted them out of the wrapping he noticed a small piece of card was placed beneath them. In neat handwriting that he recognized quite well from pouring over it for a week were the words, "_Thought I'd try my hand at knitting numbers. What do you think?"_

Sesshomaru read it through five times in rapid succession, then set the note back down on the table. Getting up, he went to his laptop to send an email to his office telling them that he wouldn't be able to make it in to work the next day. He had a shop to visit.

A/N: I'm not really pleased with this chapter, but I didn't want to rewrite it, so I'm letting it be. This story is drawing to a close quite rapidly, so sorry if this chapter seemed rushed or awkward and for how short it is. Thanks for sticking with it!


	7. cast off

Knitting Numbers

Monday, the day that the new accountant always came, had rolled around once again. The day before she must have lost her mind, Rin decided as she helped a customer, thinking of the little package she had left on Sesshomaru's doorstep.

"For a baby's garment you should keep with natural fibers, fingering weight looks best," she told an expectant mother who had come into the shop for the first time. _I can't believe I gave him the socks. Why am I throwing myself at an emotionally unavailable guy who I haven't talked to in a month? _She thought distractedly. It wasn't quite noon, so Sango and Kagome weren't there yet, making her feel lonely in her own shop.

A phone rang on the desk behind her, causing her to jump. She raced around and picked it up, surprised when she only heard a dial tone before realizing that it had been her cell phone that had made the noise. _Wow, I'm really out of it, _she thought as she flipped her phone open, seeing that she had a new text from Kagome.

"Got to miss lunch, I have an ultrasound. Want to come to my place tonight?" it said. Though she was a bit sad that she wouldn't see Kags at lunch, she was glad of the chance to go over to her house. She liked it there, so lived in and happy with the baby coming. She had been planning to tell both Sango and Kagome at lunch that she had sent Sesshomaru the socks and a note, but it was alright. Sango would find out now and Kagome later.

Lunch passed too quickly for Rin; they hadn't gotten to discus Sesshomaru at all because Sango had her own news.

"Miroku asked me to marry him!" she squealed as soon as she saw her friend, the most girly Rin had ever seen her.

"Oh my God, what did you say?" Rin asked, her question answered by Sango sticking out her left hand and wiggling her ring finger. "I can't believe he finally did it. How long have you guys been dating?"

"I know, it's been forever, but he did, so that's all that matters. I really think he's ready to settle down," Sango gushed, sitting down at the table. Rin did the same.

"How did he do it?" she prodded, realizing that she was asking all the typical girly questions but not caring.

"Well, we went to diner, and all through it he kept talking about bearing children and all sorts of weird stuff. I thought he might be sick, but he asked me to marry him instead!"

The rest of lunch passed in much the same manor, Rin questioning her friend and Sango happily providing information. Apparently neither of them had heard the phrase "don't kiss and tell." _All my friends are moving on. I'm happy for them, but it makes me really wonder when I will, _Rin thought as she wished Sango goodbye an hour later.

Kagome answered the door that night, engulfing the petite woman in a hug as soon as she was inside.

"Love you too, Kags…. Um, why are you trying to strangle me?" she asked helplessly from within the bear hug.

"I'm sorry, I just get so… emotional… it's the baby," she managed out between gasps, trying to pull herself together. Rin stared at Kagome, who was smiling but at the same time trying not to cry.

"Happy tears?" she asked tentatively, and Kagome nodded vigorously, obviously not trusting herself to speak any more. Rin followed her to the living room, wondering if Inuyasha was still at work. Suddenly she realized that somewhere along the way Kagome had left her to navigate her way to the den alone. She spun around, looking for her, then shrugged and kept going when she didn't see her, figuring she had just gone ahead.

It wasn't Kagome waiting for her in the living room, though, when she got there. Sesshomaru was sitting on the couch, gazing at the empty fireplace. He looked like he always did, crisp suit and perfect…everything.

"I can't believe Kagome set me up," she said, getting his attention. He stood abruptly.

"Are we talking about the same woman?" he asked, causing a tiny twitch at the corner of Rin's mouth.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, trying not to be sucked in by him yet again.

"I was going to just come in to the shop to talk to you, but then I foolishly got Kagome involved. She thought this would be more…private," he explained. Rin made a "hn" noise, still not letting her guard down. Sesshomaru seemed to be fighting with himself, then he took a step towards her.

"Before, what happened, it wasn't a mishap. You were right, I didn't know how to act around you, not when just being with you makes me feel better than anyone I've ever known. The point is that I'm sorry, and," he stopped, pulling up his pant leg to show the tops of his socks. They were decorated with childish numbers, the ones she had stitched there for him.

For a moment Rin was frozen, looking at him and absorbing what he said. Then a smile graced her features, quickly turning into a full-out grin until finally she was laughing, doubled over with mirth. Sesshomaru was nonplused, unsure if this reaction was good or bad. It certainly wasn't the one he was expecting from her. At last she calmed down, straightening up and wiping the tears out of her eyes.

"You look so silly in those socks!" she exclaimed, her eyes meeting his and her smile never fading as he took another step towards her, coming closer and closer until he closed the distance between them entirely. Their kiss was broken however, when they heard a clearly audible "Awww!" from the next room where Kagome was obviously spying on them. Even Sesshomaru smiled before kissing Rin again, holding her close.

Two Years Later

Rin lay sleeping in the hospital bed, looking like an angel to her husband sitting beside her despite her disgusting hair in a messy ponytail and a bump still visible on her belly under the sheets from where the baby had been. Of course she was an angel to him; she was the mother of his son. _I have a son, _Sesshomaru reminded himself, still not used to the fact that he was a father.

A nurse entered the room from a side door, carrying their baby in her arms. He was clean now, and pink, a tiny tuft of black peach-fuzz on his head. Sesshomaru stood, taking the tiny baby from her with such great care you'd think it was made of glass.

"When did she fall asleep?" the nurse asked, gesturing to Rin.

"Right after you took him to be cleaned up," he answered, eyes never leaving the baby. The nurse nodded, seeming to approve of his answer.

"It was a hard labor. All night and all day; it's a miracle nothing went wrong," the nurse commented, looking at the exhausted woman. "As it is, though, you are now the father of a healthy baby boy, 8 pounds, eleven ounces. Have you decided on a name?"

Sesshomaru nodded, giving her the name he and Rin had decided on weeks ago. "Hikaru." The woman nodded once again, writing it down.

"Would it be alright if your friends and family came in to visit?" she asked. He nodded, barely paying attention to her. He didn't even know that he could love anything as much as he loved the tiny person in his arms. In this room were the two people he couldn't live without; they were his family.

His moment was interrupted, however, when Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango all hurried into the room, hushed by the nurse and a death glare from Sesshomaru.

"Oh, he's so cute!" Kagome, Sango, and Miroku all cooed. Sesshomaru shot Miroku a look, but he seemed totally unabashed.

"What's his name?"

"How much does he weigh?"

"How's Rin?"

"What color are his eyes?"

He was bombarded by so many questions that he didn't even try to answer them; instead, he just let most of them answer themselves. Hikaru blinked open his amber eyes that looked just like his father's then smiled his mother's smile. Suddenly the drooling smile disappeared and was replaced by a wail. Sesshomaru's eyes got wide as he wondered what he could have possibly done wrong; luckily Rin came to his rescue.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," she said weakly from behind the little knot of people gathered around her husband and child. They all spun to face her, Sesshomaru quickly stepping forward and handing her the howling, squirming baby that had been so peaceful seconds ago.

"Inuyasha, Miroku—out," Sesshomaru commanded them. Inuyasha immediately protested.

"I'm his uncle!" he whined, but was silenced by a glare from his older brother. "Fine, I go, but…" The rest of his protests were cut off as Miroku dragged him through the door and shut it.

Sesshomaru turned back to his wife to see her holding Hikaru as though she had been doing it her whole life; she was the picture of a natural mother. Compared to her, he was a bumbling idiot with the baby, but he wasn't worried. She always knew just how to handle him, and he knew that as long as he had her, everything would be all right.

The End

A/N: This was fun. I always wanted to write one of these and here it is. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you're all really sweet. Good bye!


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